Much progress made in 13/7 probe: Chidambaram

Mumbai: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today held a high-level unscheduled meeting here in which he was told that "much" progress has been made in connection with the July 13 serial bomb blasts inquiry, official sources said.

The meeting was held at the government rest house, Sahyadri, in south Mumbai in which the Union Home Minister was apprised about the course of investigations into the triple blasts in the city and the steps taken regarding the modernisation of the Maharashtra police, they said.

According to the sources, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan briefed Chidambaram about the progress made so far in the blasts probe and the modernisation programme.

At least 26 people were killed and several injured in blasts that had ripped through Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House localities on July 13.

The meeting, which lasted for around 50 minutes, was attended by state Home Minister R R Patil, ATS chief Rakesh Maria, state intelligence chief K L Prasad and Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, they added.

The sources said Chidambaram also discussed with the Chief Minister the growing demand of lifting the ban on the export of onions and its impact on the state.

Maharashtra accounts for around 70 per cent of the onion produce in the country and Nashik district accounts for almost 60 per cent of Maharashtra`s onion produce.

Earlier today, farmers at Pimpalgaon Baswant village in Nashik district on the Mumbai-Agra national highway blocked traffic demanding that the ban on onion export be lifted.